Axel has a bladder stone. Has any other RAW feeders had this problem?

[Lisa Tiro]

For the past week Axel has been straining during his trips outside to pee. He stands crouching in the same spot forever. He is not blocked because he is still peeing and the first 2 days the urine was redish brown indicating blood. We took him immediately the first day to the vet with sample in hand. They put him on amoxicillin and called me the next day with the urinalysis which showed no UTI but a lot of red blood cells. The next day (day 4) the urine was back to it's normal yellow color. He was def feeling better but still strains when outside. So tomorrow I am taking him for an ultrasound. Depending which type of stone he has he may need surgery :(. I was wondering if anyone has had this problem while feeding a raw diet and if anyone has ever tried holistic herbs to dissolve the stones. I found a site that sells a kidney/bladder stone treatment.

Any advice?

~Lisa

[Jens Gunther]

Hi Lisa, I have not had any problems before, but did a quick read in one of my books. It doesn't say much besides that it is fairly common in adult dogs and you get stones from alkaline urine (struvite calculi - more common in females) and stones from acid urine (cystine calculi)(and Dalmatians are prone to get their own special brand of stones).

How old is Axel? I'd be interested to know what kind of crystal they find.

As a preventive measure they suggest lots of fresh water. Dogs eating raw food drink less water because they don't have to dissolve that horrid compact gunk other dogs get fed. I'd say once you know what type of stone you're dealing with, you'd have to determine his urine pH and try working on a strategy to keep it neutral from by means of either alterations to his diet or by means of supplements. I'd try diet first.Good luck, I hope all goes well.

[Lisa Tiro]

Thanks Jens. I've started filling his food bowl with water covering whatever meat I feed and he has been drinking it. I've been taking him out more often too even when he doesn't ask to go out to keep his bladder empty. I'll update you when I find out what we are dealing with. Axel is just 17 months old.

~Lisa

[Lisa Tiro]

Ok, here's the update on Axel. He doesn't have bladder/kidney stones at all. He has an enlarged prostate :( We have him scheduled for surgery on Thursday to have him neutered. I am so bummed out because I wanted to keep him in tact but I don't want him to be uncomfortable. Thanks for the advice Jens.

~Lisa

[Jens Gunther]

Shame Lisa, I'm sorry about the bad news. An enlarged prostate is a rather uncommon condition, especially among young dogs. I hope everything turns out OK.

[Marco]

Sorry to hear about that Lisa.  Kenzo is sceduled to get neutered this Wednesday.  I was also hoping to be able to keep him in tact.  It's good at least that you know whats going on now.  I hope he recovers quickly, and with no other problems.

[Lisa Tiro]

Thanks Marco. Why is Kenzo getting fixed? Hope he is not sick too.